


Getting Together Through Gaming

by PuyoLover39



Category: Servamp (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe (AU), Basically how anyone makes friends nowadays, Eventually they become even more than friends, Fluff, Koyuki and Ryusei, Light Angst, M/M, Mebtions of Sakuya, Sakuya is a jerky friend in this, They meet when they are online playing a game, They talk abd become friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 08:37:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14870420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuyoLover39/pseuds/PuyoLover39
Summary: When Kuro is innocently playing online and Mahiru happens to battle him, the two begin talking and get to become friends. Kuro never had a friend before, so he doesn't know what to say or how to act. He is in for a shock and a huge change when his sister gets involved.





	Getting Together Through Gaming

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Slothiccc](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slothiccc/gifts).



> Soooo, I have recently been meeting lots of lovely people online through tumblr and I have in the past made friends on my PS3 that I actually talked to a lot for a year, and I thought, "Hey, this would make a good AU for Kuro and Mahiru." So here it is. To those that I have been promising this to, I am so sorry this took me so long. Also, happy birthday to one of the amazing ladies that inspired me for this one JinKyong! I hope it rocks for you dear. ♡

Dodge, left hook, uppercut, dodge, and one last round house kick brought Kuro victory in this virtual fight. Text reading WINNER was splayed out across the screen in front of him. Somewhere in the world there was another person, he didn’t know their gender or age, but he knew they had LOSER written across their screen.

 

It was an easy match, and it wasn’t a surprise to him that he won. He didn’t have any friends, so he was always playing video games at home alone. He played online a lot, sometimes fighters, sometimes first person shooters, but no matter what he played he won almost 100% of the time. It was more surprising when he lost a game, seeing as his win/lose ratio was 98% wins and 2% loss.

 

But what did surprise him with this win was what happened after he won, he received a message and a friend request. _Wow. You’re really good! Congrats on your win, it was a good match. :-)_ Kuro wasn’t used to talking to people, nobody ever took the time to send him a message before, they just played him in games, sent friends requests because he was a strong ally in quests on games, that sort of thing. But they never tried to TALK to him. Clicking on the reply button he typed out a quick _Thanks, you too._ Thinking that would be the end of it, he closed the message out and went back to the game.

 

But he was wrong, it wasn’t over there because he got another message.

 

_Hahaha, looks like I still have a long way to go. I only picked up this game because my friends told me it was really fun and they wanted us all to play together. But they’ve all been playing a lot longer than me, so I have been playing online to get better at the game to play with them. But I know I’m still a far ways off, so I just have to keep playing!_

 

So this person wasn’t even interested in the game? They were just doing it for their friends? Friends huh. Tightening his hold on his controller, Kuro messaged back.

 

_I wouldn’t mind playing against you again, to help you get better I mean. I’m free pretty much anytime. I mean, I’m almost always on. And you want to get good for your friends right?_

 

The reply was instantaneous.

 

_Ah! Are you sure? I don’t want to trouble you. I mean, I would really appreciate it, but only if you are sure it won’t be an inconvenience. My name is Mahiru Shirota, but you can just call me Mahiru. It’s nice to meet you SleepyAsh101._

Kuro snorted out a small laugh, this person, this Mahiru,wasn’t very bright.

 

_Yeah, it’s no problem. But should you really be giving your name out to strangers like that? Especially your full name. You’re not very cautious, are you Mahiru? Well, whatever, you can call me Kuro._

 

He still didn’t know this person’s gender, but he got the feeling it was a guy. And from the sounds of it, this guy was a teenager, at least that’s the idea he got from the way that Mahiru talked about his friends and everything.

 

_Hey! Shut up! Is it really so bad that I choose to trust people?! So what if I’m not a cautious kind of guy? I try to see the best in everyone! But at least I didn’t tell you how old I was! See? I am being sorta cautious._

 

A small smile blossomed across his lips, this guy was pretty funny. Unknowingly, the two spent the next hour chatting.

 

_You, don’t have to. I’m pretty sure I can guess how old you are just from what you’ve said already._

 

_What?! That’s so creepy! What are you? Some kind of dirty old man? I doubt an old man would be playing games all the time, and I don’t think an old man would be as good as you are. Of course, for all I know you could be a girl. Girls can be just as good at video games as guys, some may be even better. So I don’t want to assume anything._

 

_Well, I am a guy, but I’m not some dirty old man, I actually don’t think I’m much older than you. If you’re gonna trust me then I guess I can put a bit of trust in you, I’m 18. I’m guessing you’re somewhere in your highschool years, so 15 to 17. Or maybe you are in middle school. Around 12-14?_

_Oh! So we are close in age! I’m 15, just like_ _you guessed. That means we’re only 3 years apart. Wow. Thanks, for trusting me Kuro, that makes me happy. I gotta go now, I have homework to do. But maybe we can play and talk some more tomorrow. Same time as today, okay Kuro? It was nice talking with you, I hope we can become friends!_

 

**I hope we can become friends!**

**Become friends.**

**Friends.**

 

His heart seemed to skip a beat, and his mouth went dry. This would be his first friend ever. The thought was almost overwhelming.

 

_Sure, works for me, I’ll see you tomorrow I guess. Bye Mahiru._

 

_Bye Kuro, have a goodnight!_

 

It was only around 4:30pm, so he could probably game for a little longer. But suddenly, that thought wasn’t very entertaining. Shaking the whole thing off, he continued playing online until 8:30pm when he decided to call it a night and head to bed. Once he got to bed he laid there staring at the ceiling, wondering if he would really be able to maintain a good relationship with this boy.

 

He spent the next hour imagining how their conversation the next day would go and he found himself smiling at the dialogue he thought up. Yawning, the bluenette rolled over and closed his eyes, drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------

 

The next day was one of the funnest Kuro ever had. He and Mahiru played for 40 minutes and talked for half an hour. In that half an hour he learned a lot about the boy. He learned that the boy was social, he liked to talk with people and make friends. But he also learned that as much as he enjoyed being with his friends, he wouldn’t let anything stop him from doing housework, he spent most of his free time doing domestic chores such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, that sort of thing.

 

Kuro thought it was strange that the teen liked doing housework, most people hated doing work, they always tried to push it off onto someone else. But here was Mahiru, supposedly volunteering for it. So he jokingly made a comment about how he would make a good housewife someday, while Mahiru objected to the quip vehemently, telling him to at least call him a househusband instead.

 

Mahiru himself was curious about Kuro’s interests, and the aforementioned older teen was kind of embarrassed to admit that his only interests were playing video games, reading manga, watching anime, and sleeping. But Mahiru only seemed amused, he said that it was normal for a teen to be into the things that the bluenette was into, but he did sound a bit lazy.

 

The two concluded their talk with a promise to keep this up and do the same thing the next day at the same time, they wished eachother a good night and ended it there so Mahiru could go do his nightly homework. Only now realizing that he never accepted the boys friend request the day prior, Kuro set about fixing his mistake immediately. Once he had accepted the request and made sure that SimplyMahiru was in his friends list, he got off his game and put on a random anime. Spending the rest of the night just killing time until he could go to bed.

 

The new friends continued to play and talk everyday for the next week. They didn’t give any personal information, but they still managed to get very close very quickly. That is, until Kuro got too curious and too close.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------

 

When Kuro woke up it was noon, he took his time lounging before getting up. After around 10 minutes, he lazily clambered out of bed and headed to the kitchen. Releasing a jaw cracking yawn he reached up to grab a cup of instant noodles, putting water in it and popping it in the microwave. As he waited for the inevitable ding of the microwave to tell him his breakfast was ready, he waltzed over to his TV and booted up his game.

 

He decided to check his phone for the time, it was 12:15pm, and he pondered on why he was keeping track of the time. Was he really counting down the time until he got to talk to Mahiru again? Of course he was, this was his first friend ever and he had fun yesterday. But wasn’t it a bad thing to be this excited about a few matches on a game and some chatting? He didn’t want to come off as creepy and too into it. Would Mahiru think that?

 

A sudden ding snapped him out of his reviere and he got to his feet slowly before trudging off to get his food. By the time he finished eating it was 12:44pm. Meaning Mahiru still wouldn’t be on for at least 3 hours or so.

 

Kuro decided to spend the next 3 hours warming up by playing against computers until it was time for Mahiru to get on. They never decided on a definite time, but the guy was always on by 3:30pm, he would probably be on at same time today. He most likely got on after he got home from school. But if that was the case, then that would be for week days, what about weekends? “What day even is it today?”

 

“It’s Thursday, don’t tell me you haven’t been paying attention to the world around you again. Honestly, you will never be able to handle living alone if you don’t start paying more attention to things and taking care of yourself. This is why I have to keep coming to check on you so often. You should really just move back home.” Called a distinctly female voice.

 

Glancing over his shoulder to the front door of his apartment, Kuro saw a young woman with long purple hair. “Oh, hey sis. Nah, moving back in with everyone would be a pain. Too noisy.”

 

Yawning again, but this time to show his non existent interest in the current conversation, he continued. “Besides, it’s not like dad can’t afford to pay for my apartment, I mean he is rich, what else is he going to spend all that money on?” He heard a deep sigh, one that told him he had missed her point completely.

 

“That’s not the point, yes dad can afford it, yes moving back would be a lot of work, and yes living in a house with 7 siblings gets noisy. But at least then we know you’re cared for. If you stay here alone and only eat instant ramen and don’t even know what day it is, it will cause your health to decline. I am only trying to look out for you because I love you, you know that right? So either start taking care of yourself, or come back home.”

 

“Yes mom, I get it, I love you too.” He said as he waved a hand in a dismissive gesture.

 

This wasn’t anything new, they had this talk at least once or twice a week. His younger sister, (who acted more like his mother or older sister) Freya, made it a point to come by one to two times a week to check on him. It wasn’t always on the same day, but she always came. Sometimes she would come on Sunday and then the next week she would drop by after school or during her lunch break.

 

She would bring him groceries, tell him what was happening with their other siblings, and clean up his place a bit, then lecture him, hug him, and be on her way. She was only a couple years younger than himself, 16 years old, meaning she was still in highschool. So he thought perhaps she had met Mahiru, or seen him at least and could tell him more about the younger male. Just to see if the boy was really who he claimed to be.

 

“Hey sis.” He called while she was stocking his fridge.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Is there a guy named Mahiru Shirota at your school? He should be a freshman.”

 

He only turned to look at the female when he heard something drop to the ground, that something being the half a gallon jug of milk that she was about to put up. Blinking a couple times, she bent down, picked up the milk, and put it in the refrigerator.

 

“Yeah, I think so. I don’t really talk to people outside of my year, but he is popular among the freshman. Insists on doing everything for everybody if they don’t want to do it themselves. Why? And how do you know about him?”

 

“A-ah, it’s nothing. I just met him online and he said he wants to play against me more often to practice for his friends. I just wanted to make sure, he was real and not some old perv trying to lure out kids by pretending to be younger himself.”

 

“Ah, okay.”

 

The apartment lapsed into a comfortable silence, as Kuro gamed and his sister stocked the fridge before moving on to clean up that place a bit. As she was moving to take out the trash, she heard a softer question come from her brother.

 

“So what does he look like?”

 

“Umm, he’s kind of short? I mean, he is always hanging around the same three guys, two of them are taller than him, one is shorter. He has short brown hair, and his eyes are big and almost honey or caramel colored. He is almost always smiling. Oh, and he always rolls his pants up to his knees for some reason. Does that help you believe he is real? Or do I need to steal his school record for you?”

 

“Ah!! N-no, no, that’s alright. Thanks sis, that’s good.”

 

“Uh-huh, sure, no problem.” She said as she tied the trash bag and carried it out of the males home. When she came back and washed her hands she went to the kitchen to cook something for her brother to reheat for dinner, well aware of the fact that he would just have ramen again if she didn’t make something for him to microwave later.

 

Grabbing a knife to chop up some carrots and other vegetables with, she called out to him. “I could probably talk to him and arrange something if you want. I’m pretty popular at school myself, because I’m so cool. People always do what I ask them to or whatever I tell them to.”

 

That’s probably because their scared of you sis, you always look like you’re ready to kill someone. What you call acting cool, is what most people call intimidating. If I’m going to start a friendship with this guy, the last thing I need is you scaring him off, I can ruin my own relationships with my own shitty personality and quirks thank you. He thought.

 

“No thanks. You know I’m not a people person. I’ll stick to just kicking his butt at video games and messaging him online thanks.”

 

His sister gave him a sideways look, almost as if she were trying to gauge his answer and read his mind. She gave a “Mm.” of acknowledgement, turning back to her task at hand and allowing the conversation to return to a comfortable silence.

 

After about half an hour the food was down and laid on the table to cool before she put it up for him. Doing a once over of the entire apartment, she noticed he had neglected to do his laundry again. Sighing, she set herself to the task of putting everything in the wash for him, he could move them to the dryer on his own.

 

Once she had everything done, she went to stand in front of the television, with her arms crossed.

 

“I don’t have time for our usual argument today, I’ve already spent two hours here and I have a project to do with a friend for class tomorrow. You should be happy that I am able to leave school early just to come take care of you. So instead I will just say I love you brother and if you won’t come home or take care of yourself, then you should at least find yourself a partner who can take care of you. Male, female, doesn’t matter to me. Just promise me you will try, okay? Bye Kuro.”

 

Bending down to gingerly hug him, she ruffled his hair and then left. Little did she know the blushing mess of a sibling she left behind was frozen in shock. Was she trying to insinuate that he was gay? That the reason he never dated anyone or made friends was because he was into his sex and was afraid of what others would think of him? Surely not, she knew he was just socially awkward and that he prefered to be alone and play video games. Dating was a waste of time and energy.

 

Shaking his head to clear away the troublesome line of thoughts, he turned back to the TV to play for another half an hour until Mahiru got on and sent him a message saying he was ready to play.

 

_Hey Kuro! I am all good to go, as long as you were serious about your offer. :-)_

_Yeah, I was serious. I’m ready too. I will set it up._

 

The two males played for half an hour, with Kuro winning every match. Finally Mahiru decided that was enough for the day and told Kuro that he just wanted to talk with him for a bit before he had to get off to do his homework.

 

_So how was your day Kuro? Anything exciting happen?_

_Ok. Nah. Just slept in, played some games, my sis came over for a bit. That’s all._

 

_Oh! You have a sister? How old is she? Did you guys play together?_

 

He blinked, about to click reply when another message came in.

 

_No. Wait. That sounds creepy. You don’t have to answer that. It’s not my business how old she is. I don’t want you to think that I am some catfish._

 

Kuro chuckled, the boy was worried he would sound like a shady guy for asking how old his sister was. It was funny, seeing as Kuro himself had asked his sister so much about the younger male.

 

_Ah, no, it’s fine. She’s actually around your age, she’s 16._

_Oh, wow! She is closer to my age. That’s cool._

_Yeah, I guess. Um, so, how was your day?_

_Oh, my day was great! My teacher gave us a partner assignment today and I got to work with my best friend Sakuya! He is absolutely useless though, I’m basically doing everything myself with him joking around and distracting me. But he’s really funny and we’ve known eachother for a long time. He is_ _always there cracking jokes to cheer me up if I am sad, so I don’t mind doing all the work for the project._

 

The shut in frowned at this, he didn’t know why, but it bothered him. Perhaps it was because he felt bad for the boy because he was doing all the work? Or was it something else?

 

_That sucks, he isn’t being avery good friend making you do everything, are you sure he’s not just taking advantage of you? You seem like a really nice guy who likes to help people, are you sure he is not just pretending to care about you? I feel like a real friend would help you if you asked because they really care about you._

 

It took Mahiru 5 minutes to answer him, and he was starting to worry that he had said something wrong. Was he out of line with that comment? He was just trying to show he was worried about the boy, that he felt for him.

 

_No, Sakuya’s not like that. He’s my best friend, he just plays around too much sometimes. Anyway, I have to go now, by Kuro._

 

Kuro sat there, blinking at the screen as he saw his friend log off. He didn’t even wait for him to reply. Just logged off, just like that. Perhaps he really had offended the boy. That’s not good. He would have to apologize and explain himself to youth tomorrow.

 

Sadly, the teen didn’t get on the next day.

 

Or the next day.

 

By day 3, Kuro was an absolute wreck. He would wait until 3:30pm. If Mahiru didn't get on to play by then, he would send him an apology and maybe even ask his sister to apologize for him. Hell, he would show up to the school himself to say he was sorry if he had to.

 

Luckily, at 3:28pm, he got a message. Although, he felt bad when he read it's contents.

 

_You were right. I thought about what you said and I asked him to help out with the project. He kept deflecting and joking around and when I finally got him to act serious about it, he said that he didn't need to do the project. That his grades would be fine and he would still move on to the next grade year even if he bombed this assignment. He said he didn't need to do it and that it was basically just me who cared about it. Long and short of it is, that after a long talk, he refused to work on the project. But he said that he would still donate his time to crack jokes while I worked on it._

 

How was he supposed to respond to that? If he wasn't careful, he would say something tactless that caused the boy to go days without talking to him again. And he didn't want that. But he had never done well when it came to comforting others. Back when he was in school, he was always quiet and stayed alone. His siblings knee how antisocial he was, so they just accepted his comfort, no matter how poor of a job he did at it.

 

With shaking hands, he replied.

 

_Gee, sorry to hear that. What are you going to do? Will you still be friends with this guy? I think you deserve better than him, but it's up to you. You just seem like a nice guy, and I don't want you to let him take advantage of you. That's an abusive relationship._

 

After a moment of waiting for a reply while holding his breathe, they seemed to get a conversation going. Seemingly foregoing playing for the day.

 

_Thanks Kuro, honestly, I don't know. It's not in my nature to give up on friends, even if they have done wrong by me. I know that's not healthy. That I should cut my losses before I get myself really hurt. But I tend to be a doormat when it comes to standing up for myself, but I will go to the moon and back for my friends. So I guess I will just drop the issue so we can stay friends. He and I haven't talked since Friday when I brought this up to him. So he may be mad at me and is waiting for me to apologize. He didn't even talk to me all day today at school. I have been pretty depressed about it all weekend. Sorry for not getting on to hang out with you. I'm not mad at you or anything, so it was wrong of me to leave you hanging like that. You were just trying to look out for me after all. And I really appreciate that_.

 

_Ah, no problem. But if you stand up for your friends, then why don't they stand up for you? It's not right what you are doing to yourself. If I was there, I would stand up for you. I sure hope that this jerk isn't one of the guys that you have been practicing so much at the game for._

_Oh, haha, well, Ryusei does stand up for me against bullies, but not for things like this. Koyuki is too gentle to really confront anyone. It's usually Sakuya who would stand up for me against others. But, that's usually for when he thinks others are going to take advantage of me. I guess he thinks it's okay for him to do it because we're friends. Aww, thanks Kuro. Yeah, he is. But, uh, I actually forgot to tell you this, but, well… they all stopped playing it. They said it was too hard and they gave up._

 

Oh. Well, that was shocking. Disregarding all that about Mahiru’s friends for now, Mahiru had been playing with him, even though he had no reason to do so. Did he develop a new reason? Was it… was it because he felt obligated? Did he not like him? Did he dislike talking to him?

 

Swallowing his nerves, Kuro hit reply and typed one word.

 

_Why?_

_Umm, why what?_

_If your friends stopped playing, then why play with me?_

 

It took a few minutes for a response to come in, all the while Kuro continued to get more and more confused. It just didn't make sense. Unless….Mahiru just enjoyed playing with him. It was then he heard the ding of a new message.

 

_Well, it's not like I was trying to hide it from you or anything, I really did mean to tell you. I just forgot with all this going on with Sakuya. But I like your company. I prefer talking to you over playing this game because I'm not really into fighting games. Still, I was worried that if I told you there was no reason to be training me anymore, that you would cut all ties with me. Sorry. I should have tried harder to remember to tell you._

 

He liked his company. He liked talking to him. Him, the antisocial shut-in, was apparently entertaining for this boy to talk to. As his heart soared with pride, his fingers typed out a response.

 

_Ah. No, it's okay. I like talking to you too. No offense, but you still kind of suck at the game, so you are more fun to talk to too. You're a really nice guy, pretty plain and naive, way too trusting, but still interesting and fun. Although, it could just be that I don't know any better since I've never had any friends before. But, why do you like talking to me? I'm nothing special. You seem like you will be really successful in life. You are good at things and have connections. I don't have anything that I'm really good at aside from video games. I won't be successful. Successful people like you shouldn't hold yourselves back by getting involved with unsuccessful people like me who will never amount to anything._

 

This time, the response took 10 minutes. Kuro was worried that he went to deep into his self loathing tendencies and scared the kid off, but he was pleasantly surprised when he got a reply, and he was positively floored when he read it.

 

_:-) Kuro. Don't say that. You could amount to a lot. I've checked your profile before, which means I've seen the number of online battles you've fought, as well as your win/loss records. You're really good! You could probably play professionally for money and fame. But even if you don't ever do anything with yourself, that doesn't mean I shouldn't associate myself with you. Infact, I'm the kind of person who would purposely attach themselves to a loser. That way that loser would have someone to take care of them._

 

A scoff rang out through the apartment as the bluenette rolled his eyes, still, a fond and sad smile spread across his lips at the teenager's words.

 

_You say that like there is a type of person that thinks like that, that it's not just you. Face it, it's just your personality Mahiru. Nobody else would think they should tie a rope around an anchor and then tie the other end around themself. Because that's basically what you are doing when you choose to attach yourself to someone like me. You just like to take on all the tasks that nobody else wants to do._

_Hahaha, hey, there are others like me, maybe, just not as excessive as me. HEY! Do NOT talk about yourself like that Kuro. I'm talking_ _to you because I want to, because I like you, and because I trust you. But you may have a point, I may just want to take care of you because someone has to. Because you deserve it. But, wait a minute, I don't remember ever telling you that I always take on the jobs nobody else wants. How did you know that?_

 

**Busted**.

 

Now he would have to think up a lie to tell Mahiru. But if he really was going to be this guy's friend, he couldn't start of their friendship with lies. If he found out later then he would never trust him again. He would just have to admit it.

 

_I, uh, may have asked my sister some questions about you. She says you're pretty famous around your school, you are popular because you do everything that nobody else wants to do. I was sorta thinking about trying to run into you. Like, make it look like I was just there to pick up my sister when really I was there to see you. But then I realized that was probably creepy._

 

_Haha, aww, I don't think it's creepy. I think it's actually kind of cute. But yeah, I do all the things that no one else wants to. So I guess I do have kind of a reputation. And hey, I've actually been wondering more about you too. Like, what you look like. So, thinking simply, we should just get to know each other better._

 

Before Kuro could even ask him what he meant by that, he got a message with a picture attachment. The picture was of a teenage boy, smiling widely, a light blush dusting his cheeks as his eyes shut tight. The message read “Hey Kuro, this is me. Mahiru Shirota. And I think we should meet up line you said, so for that, you will need to be able to text me. Here's my number 444-628-02xx call me sometime, I would love to know if the voice I have been reading your messages in, is anything like your real voice. XD ;-)”

 

Kuro couldn't help but blush at that last comment. This guy was a total dork. A total, loveable dork. And what was with the double faces? One was enough to embarrass him thank you.

 

_Ah, really Mahiru? You're just gonna give your number away to strangers? This is exactly what I was talking about when I said that you were too trusting. What if I sold your number to a bunch of scammers or something? Or if I stole your identity? All it takes is a name anymore, and here you've given me your name, face and cell phone number. Do you know how much damage a person could do to your life with this much information?_

 

_Hey, shut up. You wouldn't do any of that, and besides, if I get tricked, I'll worry about it later. I prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt. Life is simpler that way._

 

Once again, Kuro scoffed. _Maybe to you, but not to the rest of the world_. He thought.

 

Reagrdless, the bluenette was ecstatic. He was finally going to get to meet and talk to this boy in person. While normally he hated getting himself ready and going out, now he was excited. The boy's smile in the picture was beautiful. It made his heart skipped a beat and his eyes widen in awe.

 

It looked like Mahiru really meant everything he said. And if that was the case, then he wouldn't have to be alone anymore. Meeting Mahiru had to be the best thing that had ever happened to him.

 

He sent the boy a quick text just to make sure the number worked, when he got a smiley face back, he smiled and pocketed his phone. He quickly got up and shot around his home, showering, brushing his hair and teeth, getting dressed, etc. Once he was ready he texted Mahiru the name of a quaint little café and the directions to it. His reply was that he would be there in 10 minutes.

 

So not even a minute later, he wrote a note for his sister incase she dropped by, that way the girl wouldn't have a heart attack when finding the apartment empty, locked up the apartment, and left.

 

After running straight to the Café, he spotted the boy in the photo sitting calmly at a table in front of the window. Two drinks on the table. Nervously, he walked up to the lad.

 

“Um, hi, it's me, Kuro.”

 

Immediately the boy turned to look at the male who had approached him and upon recognition of the name, his eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face.

 

“Ah, Kuro! Please, sit down. I hope you don't mind, I already ordered drinks for us. Lemon lime soda.”

 

“Eh, I prefer cola.”

 

“Really? I like lemon and lime better, it's simpler.”

 

“Ha.”

 

The brunet smiled again. Softer and sweeter this time. He then reached out and grabbed Kuro's hand as if he wanted to shake it, but then he clasped it within the his own, smile changing to a sunny bright one. The same one that made Kuro's heart flutter earlier.

 

“It's nice to finally see you Kuro.”

 

Without a very faint blush on his face, he replied.

 

“It's really nice to see you too Mahiru.” He said with a tiny smile.

 

The two spent the rest of the afternoon talking and getting to know each other. Just enjoying one another's company. And Kuro decided that Mahiru was indeed the best thing to ever come into his life. This point was furthered when they went back to Kuro’s apartment to play some more games together, and they ran into his sister who complained about how Kuro still wasn't taking care of himself like a proper functioning adult.

 

Her and Mahiru quickly got into a discussion about everything that Kuro didn't do right or just didn't do period to take care of himself, including eating right, shopping, etc. This both shocked and outraged the younger male, who said that he would be moving in with him so he could take care of him. That way he would be cared for, Mahiru would have company, and Kuro’s younger sister wouldn't have to worry all the time and go out of her way to care for him.

 

Freya agreed and even offered to help Mahiru move in. It wasn't a suggestion and Kuro had no say in it, not that he was going to object to begin with, but still… was this normal? Surely not. But none of them were really normal.

 

The two immediately left to go and pack up Mahiru’s things from his tiny apartment so that he could move into Kuro’s larger apartment. They came back a couple hours later, arms full of boxes and determined looks on their faces. The boy placed the boxes down and went back out to get more,while the girl took some boxes to the spare bedroom in the apartment and started to set some of the things up.

 

It took a total of 3 hours and 24 minutes, but they were finally finished, no thanks to Kuro who had spent the whole time gaming. But it wasn't like they expected him to help anyway. Next came saying goodbye to Freya, who had to leave because it was getting late and they had school the next day.

 

As she got to the door, she turned to Kuro and smirked.

 

“By the way brother, if you recall my previous comment from my last visit, I meant it. Take care you two.”

 

With a wink and a careless wave over her shoulder, she was gone out into the night.

 

Mahiru of course, had no idea what her words meant. Head tilted and brow quirked, he glanced at his new roommate, ready to ask what she had meant, but stopped when he saw Kuro pulling his hood down over his blush stained face.

 

“Uh, Kuro? Are you okay?”

 

“No, I'm not. But maybe some cola and ramen will make me feel better. Stupid, meddling sister. She just can't stay out of my personal life, can she?”

 

The brunet laughed and shook his head.

 

“She is only ‘meddling’ because she cares Kuro. She loves you and worries about you and wants to know that you are being cared for, or at least taking care of yourself. It's actually very sweet of her. You're lucky to have her as a sibling. It could have been a lot worse.”

 

He knew the boy was right. But it was still embarrassing when she was basically flat out telling him ‘Even if you don't know it or refuse to accept it, I know you are gay and I want you to know that I support you.’

 

Sighing, he shook his head to clear his mind as a yawn slipped past his lips.

 

“Oh, sounds like you're tired. Well, it is getting late. Why don't we call it a day for tonight and head to bed? Okay, Kuro?”

 

His cheeks flared red all over again. It wasn't like the boy said anything dirty, but this coupled with what his sister had already said, it made the teen’s suggestion seem like he meant that would be sharing a bed. Literally sleeping together, not sex, just sleeping. And it honestly sounded really nice. Perhaps his sister was onto something.

 

Mahiru seemed to notice how his words could be misconstrued, most likely because of his friend's blushing face. The brunet blushed himself and set about fixing his phrasing.

 

“Ahhhh, I-I meant in our own separate beds of course. Not together sharing a bed or anything even thought that does sound nice. I mean, I wouldn't force you to do that, not unless you're into it. T-that is, to say that, umm, well, I’ll-I’ll just stop talking now. Goodnight Kuro.”

 

With those being his last words, the blushing teen pivoted and ran off. Slamming his door shut behind him in a way that just screamed embarrassed.

 

Smiling, Kuro realized that his new roommate was probably even worse off than him. He stood up and walked off toward his room, only stopping momentarily by Mahiru’s door to whisper, “Goodnight Mahiru. I'm glad you're here. And just so you know, I'm always down to cuddle with you. All you have to do is say when.”

 

Sharing personal information online with a stranger, no matter how trivial the information may seem to you, could be a huge, life ruining danger, that stemmed from talking to strangers online. Where you always have to lie, or withhold information just to protect your identity and constantly keep your guard up. But, sometimes, talking to a stranger and giving them a chance could be life changing in a good way. You may gain a lifelong friend, or even something more, and in Kuro’s case, stepping out of his shell and taking that chance, definitely changed his life.

 

He now had someone who cared about him and would be there for him, and who would one day love him and make that official by becoming bound to him. And once again, Kuro thought that Mahiru was the best thing to ever happen to him.

 

THE END♡

**Author's Note:**

> As always, sorry if this was awful, and thank you to my beautiful Beta who helped me brainstorm a bit for this, as well as a lovely young lady on FF.net. (You know who you are, thank you dear♡) Let me know what you thought in the comments. Ciao.☆


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